Nonstop flight route between Port Elizabeth, South Africa and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PLZ to DGX:
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- About this route
- PLZ Airport Information
- DGX Airport Information
- Facts about PLZ
- Facts about DGX
- Map of Nearest Airports to PLZ
- List of Nearest Airports to PLZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from PLZ
- List of Furthest Airports from PLZ
- Map of Nearest Airports to DGX
- List of Nearest Airports to DGX
- Map of Furthest Airports from DGX
- List of Furthest Airports from DGX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), Port Elizabeth, South Africa and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,158 miles (or 9,910 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Port Elizabeth International Airport and MoD St Athan, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Port Elizabeth International Airport and MoD St Athan. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PLZ / FAPE |
Airport Name: | Port Elizabeth International Airport |
Location: | Port Elizabeth, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°59'4"S by 25°36'37"E |
Area Served: | Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 226 feet (69 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from PLZ |
More Information: | PLZ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DGX / EGDX |
Airport Name: | MoD St Athan |
Location: | St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°24'16"N by 3°26'8"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 163 feet (50 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DGX |
More Information: | DGX Maps & Info |
Facts about Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ):
- A highlight in Port Elizabeth's history was the first flight to Port Elizabeth from Cape Town in 1917, made by Major Allister Mackintosh Miller.
- The airport is located approximately two miles south of the city's central business district.
- 17 May 2004 - John Travolta landed his personal Qantas Boeing 707 at the airport directly from Mauritius as he was visiting a nearby private game reserve.
- The closest airport to Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 79 miles (127 kilometers) ENE of PLZ.
- Because of Port Elizabeth International Airport's relatively low elevation of 226 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Elizabeth International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- These facilities served the community till 2000 when plans for a major terminal upgrade was drawn-up.
- Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) has 2 runways.
- The airport resides at an elevation of 226 feet above mean sea level.
- The furthest airport from Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,567 miles (18,615 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
- 1 February 2008 - King Abdullah II of Jordan's Airbus A340-200 landed at Port Elizabeth as he makes his way down the Garden Route to Cape Town on a Harley-Davidson motorbike.
Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):
- In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.
- MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of MoD St Athan's relatively low elevation of 163 feet, planes can take off or land at MoD St Athan at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- The station officially opened as RAF St Athan on 1 September 1938 and the first unit to take up residence was No 4 School of Technical Training.
- The furthest airport from MoD St Athan (DGX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,960 miles (19,248 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
- The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
- Just before 1100 GMT on 11 February 2009, two Grob Tutor aircraft flying out of St Athan were involved in a mid-air collision in which two Air Training Corps cadets and their instructors, both RAF pilots, died.
- In March 2004, however, DARA announced the loss of 550 jobs at St Athan as part of streamlining to make DARA more efficient and better able to compete with the private sector for lucrative aircraft repair contracts, but also because they lost out to a direct RAF bid for a contract to upgrade the air force's fleet of ageing Harrier jump jet aircraft.